What do the
Denver Three,
Mission Accomplished", Secret Service Impersonators,
Tom Noe and Coingate, Bush Cronyism and the White House all have in common? They all connect at the White House Advance Office - a government funded PR-shop located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
From the beginning of the Administration it's been all about the photo op. The triumphant conclusion of the "combat phase" of the Iraq War, with President Bush landing on an aircraft carrier. The seductive setting of Jackson Square, beautifully lit to serve as a backdrop for Bush's "rise again" speech. If it can't be a good photo, the President and his staff aren't interested.
But these images don't come cheap. They are manufactured and stage directed by staff and volunteers of the White House Advance Office. A corps of thousands that take their marching orders from the White House. A corps whose connections are in many cases "plausibly deniable" but who have been real sloppy.
You can learn more about the Advance Office and Advance Staff
here (link) but what you really need to know is that Advance people travel around the country, on the government dime, putting on White House events. Some advance people are employed by the White House (about 6). Others are political appointees in Washington who take time off from their jobs and freelance. Others are event professionals who have connections with the White House or the party. Still others are just picked up on the spot, when bodies are needed to do jobs. Point being, these advance people are the political PR coordinators, not the professional Secret Service or professional military advance teams sent out to worry about the President's safety. But all advance teams work together.
Advance people work the events the day the President visits - so they have extraordinary access - and ultimately control the event site. And they can even determine who gets in the Presidential photo lines. That's a lot of power for a volunteer. Access to the most powerful man in the world, some would say.
So here's how it all comes together at the White House Advance Office.
Denver Three
Denver citizens were kicked out of a taxpayer-funded Social Security event by someone they believed to be a Secret Service agent. After trying to better understand their plight, the Secret Service later revealed it wasn't an agent that kicked the three out, but instead an unnamed "staffer." And that they were kicked out because their car had a "no blood for oil" bumpersticker. The White House repeatedly denied complcity, instead blaming a "volunteer".
(Scott McLellan 3/30/05)
"Now, in terms of -- coming back to your question on Denver, I did look into that a little bit more yesterday, a few of you all called my office to talk about it. My understanding is that it was a volunteer involved in that matter."
Months later and after the detective work of a local private invesigator in Denver, a Federal Government employee, serving as an advance staffer, was identified as the perpetrator Colorado ACLU - Weise v Casper.
Mission Accomplished
The White House initially blamed the aircraft carrier crew for being overly enthusiastic and ordering the banner. Turns out that the White House ordered it, to spec.
Secret Service Impersonators
Two individuals working on a Presidential trip to Mississippi first passed themselves off as FOX News journalists, then, at the end, claimed to be Secret Service agents. They were neither - just Advance People lying.
You can also read about a college trio who passed themselves off as Secret Service here (link).
Tom Noe
We all know Tom Noe from his Coingate scheme - taking money from Ohio's public servants injury fund and plowing it back in to the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. Netting himself a $100,000 Pioneer status from the campaign. But Bush claims that they didn't know each other.
Well, yesterday we learned from the Blade that in addition to laundering money and using his status to net influence with the US Mint Toledo Blade- Advisory Post Story (link), Tom Noe was also an advance man:
(from the above article)
In addition to raising at least $100,000 for President Bush's re-election, Mr. Noe in 2004 served as regional chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign in northwest Ohio. Four days before the election, Mr. Noe at 2 a.m. apologized to Ms. Marchessault for not responding promptly to a message from her. He explained that he was busy with a "Bush event in Toledo that I am advancing."
That event netted him a nice photo:
(Courtesy of Atrios.)
And I'd also been wondering, was Tom Noe's tenure or influence with the US Mint behind the fact that the government, routinely, ends up selling its commemorative offerings at fire-sale auction prices (presumably since the items don't sell?)
(From GSAAUCTIONS.GOV)
Listed today under Jewelry & Exotic Collectables - Virginia
COLLECTOR SPOONS - VARIOUS STATES
W1FBPI06308300
Starting Bid: 49,197 USD
# Bids: 0
Closes: 04/07 - 5:00 pm CT
COLLECTOR'S SPOONS - VARIOUS STATES, WHICH INCLUDES CT, VA, GA, DE, MD, MA, NJ, PA, SC, NH, OH, LA, VT. THESE COLLECTOR'S SPOONS FEATURES THE STATE QUARTERS. EACH SPOON IS 4 1/2" LONG, A STATE QUARTER IS MOUNTED AT THE TOP AND THE NAME OF THE STATE WILL BE SPELLED OUT IN BLOCK LETTERING ON THE SPOON STEM, READING TOP TO BOTTOM. SPOONS ARE STEEL, PLATED WITH NICKEL AND HAVE AN IMITATION RHODIUM FINISH. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BUY!!! 129471 SPOONS.
THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY IS NOT WARRANTED.
Advance People and Lobbyists
The White House Advance Office and lobbyists seem quite tight. Here we see one of the current Special Assistants to the President, Todd Beyer, spending time at a Lobbyist's Summer Suaree (courtesy of Washington Life Magazine).
See Todd posing with energy lobbyist Robbie Aiken and lobbyist Steve Ross. As Ross' bio notes, he does Presidential Advance work.
The Advance Office is so special, somehow it even manages to throw its own Holiday parties at the US Chamber of Commerce -
both in 2003 (Link to 2003 photos).
And in 2004 (Link to 2004 photos) where Robbie the lobbyist is presenting a check to Todd Beyer.
Cronyism
You may remember Patrick Rhode and Brooks Altschuler, formerly FEMA Director Michael Brown's Deputies (Chief Of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff). Well, before coming to FEMA to handle disasters, both Patrick (link) and Brooks (link)worked in the Advance Office.
Other Instances
There are many more instances that just have to make you wonder why all of these issues come back to the Advance Office.
How can these volunteers keep getting in so much trouble when the Advance Office has to spell out exactly how many Caffeine Free Diet Sprites to get Vice President Cheney? Kos Diary Link
Or what about "Made In China-gate", or Clapping-gate?
PR Presidency Link
And how about asking to have trees removed for "the shot" and then blaming the Secret Service?
Copley News - Never Asked to Remove the Trees
Ask yourself - what's going on in the Bush White House Advance Office?